EU based Director & Cinematographer with global experience in commercials, narrative & VR
Jaap Ruurd Feitsma (b. 1984) is a director, cinematographer, and photographer who uses film, VR, and photography as his primary creative tools. He has shot music videos, commercials, interactive content, and narrative fiction, collaborating with clients such as the BBC, Nike, BMW, and Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts.
Culturally driven, Jaap's work has taken him to over sixty countries, where he has worked with diverse casts and crews worldwide. He is a member of the Directors Guild of the Netherlands and is currently writing and directing the short film Get In, starring Mark Ryan.
Jaap also serves as a part-time lecturer at NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences in the Bachelor program for Creative Business. Additionally, he is committed to long-term documentary photography projects for NGO's globally.
Unique traits: (Over)Seeing the bigger picture • Attention to (visual) details (environmental storytelling) • Tech savvy • Creative
Get in Budget: $0 - $100K | Mystery ⋄ Horror Rescuing a mysterious hitchhiker, injured on a desolated road, Richard stumbles upon the supernatural, when confronted by the true nature of his enigmatic passenger.
Ophelia (working title) Budget: $100K - $1M | Mystery ⋄ Horror A struggling painter rents her new working studio in a five-hundred year old former prison where unexplainable things start to occur.
Get in
(
Film (short)
by Stichting Bliksum Films (Horror and Mystery)
Writer, Director Rescuing a mysterious hitchhiker, injured on a desolated road, Richard stumbles upon the supernatural, when confronted by the true nature of his enigmatic passenger.
Doorgaan / To Pursue
(
Documentary
by JONNA / Johanneke Dijkstra (Documentary)
Cinematographer DOORGAAN (Dutch for 'to pursue') is a poignant, intense documentary about strength and survival. What do you do when life knocks you out? Will you stay down? Or do you get up? And do you run away or do you hit back?
In the documentary you can see the special relationship between Piet and Farshid. Piet Rozendaal grew up in the Boterhoek of Leeuwarden; the red light district of poverty. The Prinsentuin was the first boxing ring where he fought. Neighborhood against neighbourhood. You were both each other's enemy and each other's friend, a value that Piet later found in boxing. During the filming of the documentary, Farshid Bos becomes Dutch Champion in his class, not without a struggle.
Allemaal Vogels / All Birds
(
Film
by Fabuch Social Cinema / Fabian Jansen (Drama and Mystery)
Cinematographer A film born from improvisation, character research and family dinners,
with six talented third- and fourth-year actors from the Actors' Course and
the Performing course at the Theater Academy in
Maastricht. Under the direction of Fabian Jansen, they searched and found
never before played characters in a previously unimagined story.
New Generation
(
Commercial
by Non Rewind/Bart Dokter (Short)
Director of Photography Film ad for the Northern Film Festival.
Drekst / Right Now
(
Film
by Niels de Vries (Comedy and Crime)
Director of Photography The town of 'Liwadden' sets the stage for an escalating conflict over a winning lottery ticket.
The MINI Story
(
Internet
by Jaap Ruurd Feitsma
Director, VR DoP Worked as traditional camera operator and 360°/Virtual Reality (VR) DoP for this project. The VR part was shot in the BMW Welt Museum in Munchen, Germany.
Check out the 360° experience we made at The MINI Story, which won the German Design Award 2016!
Agency/producer: yellowBird
Client: BMW Mini
Roles: Director, VR DoP
Ronnie Flex - Pocahontas (music video)
(
Video
by Habbekrats / yellowBird (Music)
Camera Operator Camera operating on RED Epic for this music video of Dutch rapper Ronnie Flex as well as DP for the VR shot that was shot with the LadyBug 3 camera. I was responsible for the interactive 360° shot. Unfortunately the Virtual Reality shot is not seen in the original TV / online version of the music video. It was created for the downloadable App and Virtual Reality version only. Nice little fact: this was the first interactive music video in the Netherlands.
Client: Hi Society
Production Company: yellowBird/Habbekrats
Agency: TopNotch
Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts (360/VR films)
(
Commercial
by yellowBird, Jaap Ruurd Feitsma (Short)
Director & Director of Photography VR DP lead and director for dozens of Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts interactive films around the world. Locations include, but are not limited to Toronto, Vancouver, Abu Dhabi, Muscat, Istanbul, the Maldives, Shanghai, Wenzhou, Suzhou, Chengdu. Added project URL is the hotel video we shot in Istanbul.
Client: Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts
Production company: yellowBird
Subaru commercials
(
Commercial
by Flashpoint Films
Camera Operator Various internationally shot VR and TVC projects for Japanese car brand Subaru.
Red Bull Harbour Reach
(
Internet
by yellowBird
Camera Operator / Editor VR Livestream project with wake-boarders in Liverpool, UK.
Top Gear
(
Television
by BBC / Phil Churchward (Action, Adventure and Sport)
Camera and Electrical Department Top Gear is a British television series about motor vehicles, primarily cars, and is a relaunched version of the original 1977 show of the same name, airing since 2002, and becoming the most widely watched factual television programme in the world.
Boer zoekt Vrouw (farmer wants a wife)
(
Television
by KRO (Reality-TV)
Camera operator TV and Online (second screen) episodes
Dreams of Change
(
Documentary
by Gemeente Smallingerland (Documentary)
Writer / producer / director / director of photography / editor Short documentary shot in Namibia, Africa. Graduation project at the NHL University of Applied Sciences in Leeuwarden, the Netherlands
Letting Go
(
Film
(Short and Drama)
Director A romantic meeting of a couple in love can suddenly change in something very different.
German Design Award (The MINI Story)
(2016)
NatGeo Best Shot 2015 (Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque photograph)
(2015)
NHLS - Master of Science
(2021-2023)
NHL - Bachelor of Science
(2006-2010)
Anadolu University - Bachelor of Arts
(2007-2008)